General Flea Control II

Treating the Pet's Environment:

In general, the products used in the environment can be more toxic and last longer than those which are applied to the animal. Never use these products directly on your pet or children unless the bottle states it is safe to do so (even then, I would question this.)

Where young children and infants are concerned, more importance is placed on safety than effectiveness. This is why it is important for you to be involved in the choices of products for your home and pets.

Premise control products kill only the susceptible stages of the fleas at the point in time they are used. They are fairly safe and can be used as the main environmental treatment in homes that have birds and fishes as pets. The frequency of fogging and spraying depends upon the temperature and humidity, degree of flea infestation, the traffic of pets in and out, the effectiveness of the products used, and the amount of household clutter in which fleas can hide.

Foggers are designed to cover large enclosed areas and are set off while all occupants (including pets) are away. They are most effective in empty spaces and in crawl spaces. In homes with furniture or items covering the floor they are not very effective. Foggers can take care of up to 80% of the problem. Make sure you get one with a growth inhibitor in it.

When using foggers, remove all living things from the premises. Cover your fish tanks and remove all the birds. Read labels prior to using any foggers or premise sprays. Because the insect growth regulator Methoprene is also removed with vacuuming, vacuum or steam clean before using them and wait at least 4 days after fogging to vacuum. Foggers are basically gone after 10-15 vacuumings.

Put your dollars into growth inhibitor products for most effective and economical results.

Premise Sprays are designed for spot treatment or for difficult to reach areas and for areas which are not enclosed such as a back porch or doghouse. Use premise sprays for the baseboards, under the furniture, and between the couch cushions and around the edges of the water bed mattress.

These products last 2-3 months, are not as easily vacuumed up (they last for 20-30 vacuumings) and are very good for high traffic areas and for continuous protection. These products are broken down and become ineffective by the sun's rays. Use them for touch up in well-traveled pathways in the house where you may vacuum more often. Don't forget to treat your car if you pets travel with you (even just once to the vet.) This product is effective and a good use for your dollars.

Yard and kennel sprays are for outdoor use and should be used in accordance with manufacturer recommendations. Most fleas live within a 30-foot radius of the building -- where most pets spend their time. These sprays can be purchased at your veterinarian's office, pet shops, on-line, or at the local garden store.

Nematodes that eat flea larvae: A few years ago I carried a natural product of nematodes to sprinkle on your lawn that would kill the flea larvae. That would be a great product if it were effective. The downfalls to this product were that it had to be kept wet, the expiration dates are short, it is expensive, and one can does not go far. If anyone of you out there has found a good product like this could be, let me know!

Malathion and Sevin are the sprays used most frequently for the yard, but get inactivated by sunshine and they will not last over 3-7 days. Spray them after the sun has gone down and when you know it won't be raining for a day or two.

Housekeeping can be an extremely effective flea control measure. Vacuuming will remove flea eggs, pupae and the flea droppings used by the larvae for food. Vacuum up some flea powder or add a piece of flea collar to each new bag or burn the vacuum sweepings to prevent fleas from completing their life cycle in the compost heap or trash bag. Vacuuming EVERY DAY is essential if you don't want to use chemicals. Also, getting rid of carpet in your house helps a lot. I would also recommend an occasional shampoo of the carpets (not dry-chemical cleaning) as it will suffocate the cocoons.

A note about worms: When fleas (or mice) are ingested by your pet the tapeworm (cestode) is allowed to finish its life cycle. If you see rice-sized segments sticking to the hairs around the rectum of your pet or see the segments or "ribbon or noodle-like" worms in the stool or on the animals bedding you should contact your veterinarian for a drug to treat them. Over-the-counter worm preparations only treat nematodes (roundworms) and are not effective against tapeworms. Worming may be necessary as often as every three weeks (the life cycle of the tapeworm) depending on the severity of the flea problem.

When in doubt (especially for large dogs, which can be very expensive to worm,) bring in a fresh stool sample for a floatation. The floatation may not show eggs even though your pet has worms.

My recommendation is to worm your pets if you are seeing fleas with a good tapewormer (I use Cestex) and worm twice a year with pyrantel pamoate (also called Nemex or Strongid-T) roundwormer. Piperzine is useless these days for roundworming and no longer works at all in cats. The grocery store doses are ineffective.

If you have wormers at home and would like to try to use them up first, call your vet. We need to know the chemical name (scientific name) to be able to tell you if you have the proper medication.

NEVER give a store bought wormer to a pet who is sick unless your vet is consulted first. You may cause some severe problems--especially with triple wormers. I once had a relative give her pregnant dog a triple wormer. The dog strained so much that her uterus burst and she died.

Diatomaceous Earth: Not all diatomaceous earth (DE) is alike. Stay away from filtration types. All DE that is used for filtration purposes (pools, spas, etc) has undergone chemical and heat treatment. The heat treatment greatly increases the percentage of crystalline silica, which poses a serious inhalation risk. DE has high crystalline silica content and some DE has high levels of arsenic in it. Our local organic people recommend Perma-Guard (www.perma-guard.com). Another brand to use that is safe is Biconet. Only natural untreated DE should be used for insect control.

How does DE work? The dust clogs their breathing apparatus so they suffocate. Unfortunately it may also make asthma symptoms worsen.

Mopping with soap and mild bleach water is quite effective for flea control in those houses with no carpets. Many of my clients with flea allergic animals and inhalant allergy children eventually change over to hardwood floors and linoleum.

Flea attractant lights. What a racket. Don't waste your money on this gimmick.

White dishes filled with water and Joy dish soap: I suspect if you are attracting fleas to this kind of contraption that you have a severe infestation and should think about doing something a bit more effective.